Preheat oven to 400° F. Butter or spray with nonstick
cooking spray miniature muffin pans or regular muffin cups.
For the sponge, heat 1/2 cup milk to lukewarm; sprinkle the yeast
on the surface and allow to stand 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth and stir in 3/4 cup flour.
Cover the sponge and let ferment 20 minutes. NOTE: If you use instant yeast, you don't
have to wait the 5 minutes and you can mix all the sponge ingredients at once.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs, salt, sugar, and
1 1/2 cups flour together;
beat in the prepared sponge, and then the cooled melted butter.
Divide the dough into the
muffin cups, filling them 1/2 full. Cover the pans loosely with buttered plastic wrap;
allow to rise in a warm spot approximately 30 to 60 minutes or until the dough has risen
to the top of the cups. NOTE: At this stage, you can put the molds in the refrigerator for
a few hours or overnight until you are ready to proceed.
When the dough has risen, remove the plastic wrap and bake for
approximately 10 to 20 minutes (depending on size of your muffin cups) or until golden
brown. Remove from oven. Allow to cool slightly in the pan for 1 minute on a rack.
Using your fingers, one at a time, remove individual babas
from muffin cups and submerge each baba into the warm Limoncello Syrup for
approximately 1 minute or until they swell slightly. Then place the dipped baba in a large
baking dish or pan (tops up). Repeat with the remaining babas. After dipping all the babas, pour any leftover Limoncello
Syrup over the top of the cakes. Allow them to stand 1 hour (all of the syrup will be
absorbed). Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours. /p>
Before serving, brush
tops of cakes with warm Limoncello Glaze. Serve with whipped sweetened cream.
NOTE: Babas may be baked, soaked in syrup, and then cooled
completely. Freezer-wrap (pan and all); label and freeze. To serve, let stand at room
temperature 1 hour; then warm in 300 degree F. oven for 15 minutes. Top with warm
Limoncello Glaze and serve.
Makes 12 regular-size Babas or 30 to 36 small
Babas.
Limoncello Syrup
2 cups granulated
sugar
